Multi-disciplinary approaches to Autism

I spent several years working with children diagnosed with Autism, and LOVED it. It's some of the hardest work I've ever done (Freddie, if you have the link to the Salon article, that'd be faboo), it's definitely not for everyone, and Autism (or Autism Spectrum Disorders - ASDs, such as Asperger's Syndrome, Rett's Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder - I know, don't get me started - etc. etc.) is a difficult disorder to explain, much less treat. I worked in several different fields, using quite a few different frameworks and applying different skill sets under these frameworks: music therapy, applied behavior analysis (ABA), Lovaas, cognitive development, Floortime, socio-emotional development, on and on and on.

Today there's an article in the NYT about Autism, and each time the mainstream media spotlights the disorder, I alternate between thrilled and discouraged. It is a difficult disorder to spotlight in that it's manifested ever so differently from person to person - it's a spectrum disorder and a syndrome so a person diagnosed with ASD and the different syndromes manifests a different set of skills and disabilities, with different levels of severity in those areas. No two children with ASD present exactly the same. When an article or news story appears, it brings levels of awareness abou a disorder that is grossly on the rise for reasons unknown, widely misunderstood (Rain Man, while a start, is one of the most high-functioning people with Autism I've ever seen - possibly second only to Temple Grandin, whom I met a few years ago and is remarkable in so many ways and a beacon of hope for so many parents) but also does not do enough research to present a story that may leave the reader or viewer more confused - sadly without them ever realizing their confusion. Often it presents ABA as the be-all, end-all of Autism intervention.

This article bemoans the lack of current, pure, scientific research of the effectiveness of ABA Autism because the parents often interfere with the would-be effectiveness of this research by accessing multi-disciplinary treatments. In an online article that covers 4 pages, today's article mentions numerous treatments and interventions and gives them cursory, derogatory explanations, or no explanation at all. Sensory Integration is not a wild, unknown, fringe-treatment, as portrayed in the article - there's years of research to back it up, not to mention testimonials from parents whose child never showed any interest in playing even near other children in the sandbox during recess because they couldn't tolerate the feeling of the sand (I, personally, totally understand that one - sand on my feet triggers a gag reflex). Gluten-Free, Casein-Free diets are helpful for some children, and also address sensory processing difficulties. Floortime, helps parents and children to interact with each other - a skill never previously addressed as developmentally necessary for the child or the parent. I've met families with children 7 years old, and the parents seem as emotionally distant as their children; they've never played with each other because the parents have never learned that their patience and persistence in reaching out to their children is as important for them as it is for their kiddo, and using Floortime models, these parents have interacted with their children for the first time.

I definitely understand why research is important in the treatment of any disorder. However, I also understand the need for parents to treat their children with as many interventions as possible - since Autism comes in as many colors as there are water droplets, no single treatment or combination of treatments is likely to work universally as the Cure for Autism. Many people illustrate the parents as accessing interventions as a way to manager their grief as going into overdrive. In many cases this is true - but if you look at the motivation, it's difficult to portray them as therapy-seeking maniacs who want their children to spend their whole lives in therapies. In most cases, these parents are doing whatever they can to give their children what every good parent wants to give: their child a happy, healthy life where they can live as independently as possbile to go on and do the same for their children further down the line.